Can You Leave Cryptocurrency in a Will?

Unlike a social media account or a streaming subscription, cryptocurrency is not a licence to use someone else's service. It is a form of property that you hold directly, controlled entirely by whoever has access to the relevant private keys or seed phrase, without a bank, company, or platform standing in the middle to verify identity or reset access. This is precisely what gives cryptocurrency its appeal to many holders, but it also means there is no institution to turn to if access is lost.

Because there is no central authority involved, a will can genuinely leave cryptocurrency to a named beneficiary in the same way it would leave shares or a savings account, since the value belongs to the estate outright. The challenge is entirely practical rather than legal, and it centres on how the beneficiary or executor will actually be able to access the funds once entitled to them.

The will should identify that cryptocurrency holdings exist and state who should inherit their value, in the same general way it deals with other assets, without going into technical detail about wallets, exchanges, or access methods. This gives the estate the legal basis to include the cryptocurrency in the distribution of assets, and it puts executors on notice that this is something they need to investigate and deal with.

What the will must never contain is the private key, seed phrase, or any password needed to access the cryptocurrency itself. A will becomes a public document once probate is granted, and anyone can request a copy from the Probate Registry. Publishing access details in a will would be equivalent to leaving a bank vault combination on public display, potentially exposing the funds to theft long after the will was written.

The practical solution is to store private keys, seed phrases, or exchange account details in a separate, secure location entirely apart from the will, and to leave clear but general instructions about how a trusted person or executor can find and use that information if needed. This might be a physical document kept in a safe, a password manager with strong security, or a specialist custody solution designed for cryptocurrency, depending on the value and complexity of the holding.

Whatever method is chosen, it needs to balance two competing risks. If access details are too hard to find, the cryptocurrency could be lost forever when the holder dies. If they are too easily found or too widely shared, the funds are vulnerable to theft while the holder is still alive. Getting this balance right is one of the main reasons cryptocurrency holders benefit from individual advice rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.

Executors dealing with an estate that includes cryptocurrency need to know that the holding exists, roughly what it consists of, and where to find the secure information needed to access it, even though they should not necessarily be given the keys themselves while the holder is alive. Without this knowledge, cryptocurrency can be entirely overlooked during estate administration, since it does not appear on a bank statement or in any register that a solicitor or executor would otherwise check.

Executors should also be aware that transferring or accessing cryptocurrency, once they do have proper authority, can involve technical steps that differ from any other asset they might deal with, and that mistakes such as sending funds to the wrong address are generally irreversible. Taking care, and seeking specialist help where the holding is significant, is time well spent.

General guidance can only go so far with cryptocurrency, because the right approach depends heavily on the value involved, the type of wallet or exchange used, and the beneficiary's own familiarity with managing digital assets. For modest holdings, a straightforward secure note alongside a will may be entirely adequate. For substantial holdings, professional advice on secure storage, valuation for inheritance tax purposes, and a clear succession plan can make a real difference to whether the value is preserved or lost.

My Posh Will's guided online service can help you record that cryptocurrency forms part of your estate and direct who should benefit from it, as part of a straightforward will covering England and Wales, at a one-off cost of £69 for a single will or £89 for mirror wills. For significant or complex holdings, we would also recommend speaking to a specialist adviser about secure storage and succession planning alongside your will.